Wall Street awaits key data and Trump's Fed choice

BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. stock futures were slightly lower this morning as investors turned momentarily cautious, with equities pulling back from intraday record highs Wednesday. Another batch of economic data and earnings hits today. President Trump also announces a new Fed chair. (CNBC)

Dow component DowDupont (DWDP) this morning issued profit and revenue that were better than estimates. But Dow stock Apple (AAPL), which reports this afternoon, will undoubtedly get the most attention of the after-the-bell earnings numbers. (CNBC)

Tesla (TSLA) was taking about a 6 percent hit in the premarket after reporting late Wednesday a wider than expected quarterly loss. The electric automaker also scaled back its Model 3 production targets as it deals with production bottlenecks. (CNBC)

Facebook (FB) shares were also under some pressure after CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned after-the-bell Wednesday that protecting the site from those wanting to spread fake news and hate speech will drive costs higher. Meanwhile, quarterly earnings and revenue did beat expectations. (CNBC)

Two government reports are out at 8:30 a.m. ET with the release of initial jobless claims and third-quarter productivity. Forecasts call for 235,000 new claims for the week, down from 235,000 the prior week. Productivity is expected to show a 2.8 percent annual rate gain for the July through September period. (CNBC)

Bitcoin hit another all-time high this morning, surpassing $7,000 for the first time. The cryptocurrency has had a bullish streak throughout the week following the CME's announcement that it will introduce bitcoin futures contracts. (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

President Trump will pick Jay Powell to be the next Fed chair, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a source. Trump is slated to formally announce his decision this afternoon before he leaves for a trip to Asia tomorrow.

House Republicans are expected today to release a tax bill offering plenty of flexibility, as they grapple with stubborn internal disagreements on paying for the tax cuts they propose. The GOP postponed the bill's unveiling on Wednesday. (Reuters)

President Trump said the man alleged to have perpetrated a terrorist attack in New York City "should get death penalty." Lawyers quickly noted that by publicly stating his preferred outcome for the case, the president may have made the job of prosecutors more difficult. (CNBC)

President Trump will be pleased with himself when he hears that one of his favorite phrases, "fake news", has been named "word of the year" by dictionary publisher Collins. The term saw an "unprecedented" rise with usage of the term increasing 365 percent since 2016. (CNBC)

Amazon (AMZN) has secured new domain names related to cryptocurrency, sparking speculation that it could be preparing a move into the cryptocurrency space. The domains are: amazonethereum.com, amazoncryptocurrency.com, amazoncryptocurrencies.com. (CNBC)

Kohl's (KSS) is bringing out the sales for shoppers even earlier this holiday season. The retailer unveiled its strategy, which includes more ways for shoppers to earn Kohl's Cash, in-store deals on Cyber Monday and heavier Black Friday promotions, starting this week. (CNBC)

Papa John's said the NFL "hurt" the company by not resolving the protests during the National Anthem. Declining NFL viewership and negative consumer sentiment associated with the league caused sales in the quarter to slump, the company claimed. (CNBC)

STOCKS TO WATCH

GoPro (GPRO) earned an adjusted 15 cents per share for its latest quarter, well above the 2 cent consensus estimate. The action camera-maker's revenue also beat forecasts, but it gave weaker than expected current quarter and full-year guidance, as it continues to deal with production issues.

Qualcomm (QCOM) came in 9 cents above forecasts with adjusted quarterly profit of 92 cents per share, while the chipmaker's revenue also exceeded forecasts. Overall results were impacted, however, by a fine imposed by Taiwan regulators and the withholding of patent royalties from Apple amid a legal dispute between the two companies.

FireEye (FEYE) lost 4 cents per share for the third quarter, 3 cents smaller than analysts had anticipated, while the cybersecurity company's revenue exceeded forecasts. However, the shares are under pressure after FireEye disappointed investors by forecasting a current quarter loss.

Symantec (SYMC) earned an adjusted 40 cents per share for its fiscal second quarter, falling 3 cents short of estimates, while the cybersecurity company's revenue matched forecasts. Symantec also gave weaker than expected current quarter guidance, and said it had no plans to spin off its consumer business.

Shake Shack (SHAK) came in 2 cents above estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of 17 cents per share, with the restaurant chain's revenue coming in just above consensus. The company also announced plans to add up to 26 new U.S. stores this year and up to 35 next year.